As mobile computing devices become more common place, one major goal of system designers is to reduce power consumption, e.g., to allow for longer battery life, less heat generation, etc. However, when it comes to power consumption reduction in various components of a computer system, system designers have to generally rely on information obtained from predefined standards that govern timing of operations for such components to ensure correctness. Accordingly, whether or not a component is capable of entering a lower power consumption state and still maintain correctness may directly depend on whether a standard (e.g., relating to timing requirements) has already been predefined for that component.
Furthermore, while energy efficiency is important for today's small form factor mobile computing devices, energy efficiency is also important for larger systems, in part, as higher power consumption may increase heat generation. Excessive heat may damage components of a computer system. Further, the higher power utilization may increase battery consumption, e.g., in mobile computing devices, which in turn reduces the amount of time a mobile device may be operated prior to recharging. The additional power consumption may additionally require usage of larger batteries that may weigh more. Heavier batteries reduce the portability or usability of a mobile computing device.